February 9, 2011

woman in Afghan shelter
A child bride, forced to marry at 11, fled and took refuge in one of the shelters. (Photo: Getty)

By Jerome Starkey
in Kabul
The Scotsman

Secret shelters which protect women from murder, forced marriages and ritual mutilation will be turned into “virtual prisons” that make women less safe, under Afghan government plans to wrest control of them from local charities, women’s activists warned yesterday.
The exact whereabouts of the safe houses and the identities of the women who hide there are carefully guarded secrets, but proposals seen by The Scotsman would put government staff in charge and force them to inform police of anyone who goes inside.

Campaigners said the draft legislation was pandering to conservative male prejudices that shelters harbour prostitutes, and they warned it would roll back years of hard-won progress towards improving women’s rights.

Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan

February 3, 2011

Afghan Women’s Mission is proud to sponsor an art exhibit highlighting the devastating impact of the Afghanistan war on civilians. Windows and Mirrors is a collaboration of more than 40 artists from around the world, including U.S. students. Forty-five, 4-foot by 6-foot panels, each uniquely designed by an artist or group of artists, comprise one large display memorializing Afghan civilian casualties. The exhibit also includes images collected from Afghan high school students by Dr. Zahir Wahab, a professor at Lewis and Clark College who asked young Afghans to draw images from their daily reality.